UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has met Burma’s military leaders and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, diplomatic sources say. Mr Gambari is attempting to mediate between the junta and the opposition, and end a bloody crackdown on mass pro-democracy protests. The sources said Mr Gambari almost certainly met senior general Than Shwe. Ms Suu [...]
Twelve tourists have been wounded in a bomb blast in a park near the main mosque in the Maldives capital of Male, the UK Foreign Office has said. Two Britons, two Japanese and eight Chinese tourists were hurt by the bomb – reported to have been homemade. Local media said the blast was triggered using [...]
Reconstruction work will begin next month on a revered shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra blown up in the current conflict, UN cultural body Unesco says. The al-Askari shrine, one of Iraq’s most sacred Shia sites, was partly destroyed in two attacks over two years by suspected Sunni militants. Thousands have died in sectarian [...]
Mobile phone calls within the EU have become cheaper under new limits set by the European Commission. The Commission has established limits on the amount mobile phone companies can charge their customers. Operators can now charge a maximum of around 34 pence a minute for making calls, and 17 pence to receive a call. The [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — Here’s something Madonna can really celebrate: a nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Madge joins heartland rocker John Mellencamp, the puckish rappers Beastie Boys and premier dance acts Donna Summer and Chic among the nine nominees for the hall. The five leading vote-getters will be inducted in the [...]
Microsoft/Windows Update Program Manager Nate Clinton has just posted on an issue we’ve learned of that affects some users of Windows Update repairing their systems using a Windows XP CD. The symptom is that some Windows XP customers are unable to install updates via the latest version of Windows Update after using a Windows XP [...]
n Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use. Earlier this week Apple said a planned update would leave the device “permanently inoperable”. Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers [...]
Customer demand has forced Microsoft to extend the shelf life of Windows XP by five months. Microsoft was scheduled to stop selling the six-year-old operating system on 30 January 2008 to leave the field clear for Vista. Now the date on which many sellers of XP will no longer be able to offer it has [...]
More than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public will go online thanks to a mass digitisation programme at the British Library. The programme focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions. The library believes online access to the titles will help teachers. “If there [...]
UK farmers whose livestock are hit by bluetongue disease following confirmation of an outbreak will not be compensated, the government has said. Deputy Chief Vet Fred Landeg acknowledged movement controls would cost the industry tens of millions. But he said there would be no compensation payments because no more culling would take place. Peter Kendall, [...]
